Bearing assembly for a pump and a pump comprising the bearing assembly
A bearing assembly for mounting a rotatable shaft of a pump and the pump are disclosed. The bearing assembly comprises: a bearing comprising an outer ring and an inner ring; a bearing support configured to support the outer ring of the bearing, the bearing support surrounding at least a portion of an outer surface of the outer ring extending across at least a portion of one end surface of the outer ring; and a shield extending from the bearing support towards the inner ring to thereby obscure at least a portion of an annular gap between the inner and outer ring.
1. A bearing assembly for mounting a rotatable shaft of a pump, said bearing assembly comprising:
a bearing comprising an outer ring and an inner ring;
a bearing support comprising a metal spring damper configured to support said outer ring of said bearing, said bearing support surrounding at least a portion of an outer surface of said outer ring extending across at least a portion of one end surface of said outer ring;
an outer surface of said inner ring comprising a recess; and
a shield formed by the metal spring damper having an inner axially extending surface and a radially extending surface, the radially extending surface extending from the inner axially extending surface toward the outer ring to thereby obscure at least a portion of an annular gap between said inner and outer ring; wherein
at least a part of the radially extending surface and at least a part of the inner axially extending surface are positioned within the recess of the inner ring and face the inner ring.
2. The bearing assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said shield has a thickness of 0.5 to 4 mm.
3. The bearing assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a clearance gap is between the inner axially extending surface and the inner ring within the recess.
4. The bearing assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said inner ring is axially longer than said outer ring.
5. The bearing assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the inner axially extending surface of said shield is formed of a different material than a material forming a majority of said shield.
6. A pump comprising at least one rotatable shaft mounted on at least one bearing assembly according to claim 1 .
7. The pump according to claim 6 , said pump comprising a vacuum pump.
8. The bearing assembly according to claim 1 wherein said shield is configured to provide at least one of an axial and radial end stop in case of failure of said bearing.